Kiribati (2002) | Panama (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) | 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*(Kuna Yala), and Veraguas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.2% (male 19,588; female 19,092)
15-64 years: 56.6% (male 26,905; female 27,625) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 1,339; female 1,786) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.8% (male 460,840/female 443,359)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 984,558/female 956,748) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 91,383/female 102,262) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish | bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp |
Airports | 21 (2001) | 105 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 44
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 61
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 49 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
total: 78,200 sq km
land: 75,990 sq km water: 2,210 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. | With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. On 7 September 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of 1999. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the intervening years. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were turned over to Panama by or on 31 December 1999. |
Birth rate | 31.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.96 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.095 billion
expenditures: $3.737 billion, including capital expenditures of $471 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Tarawa | Panama |
Climate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds | tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May) |
Coastline | 1,143 km | 2,490 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1979 | 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983, 1994, and 2004 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Panama
conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | - |
Death rate | 8.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $10 million (1999 est.) | $8.78 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to the Marshall Islands is accredited to Kiribati | chief of mission: Ambassador Linda Ellen WATT
embassy: Avenida Balboa and Calle 37, Apartado Postal 0816-02561, Zona 5, Panama City 5 mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002 telephone: [507] 207-7000 FAX: [507] 227-1964 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu | chief of mission: Ambassador Federico HUMBERT Arias
chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8416 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa |
Disputes - international | none | organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operate within the border region with Panama |
Economic aid - recipient | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan | $197.1 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid, from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China, is a critical supplement to GDP, equal to 25%-50% of GDP in recent years. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. | Panama's dollarised economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for four-fifths of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, the global slowdown, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000-03; growth picked up in 2004 led by export-oriented services and a construction boom stimulated by tax incentives. The government has been backing tax reforms, reform of the social security program, new regional trade agreements, and development of tourism. Unemployment remains high. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.51 million kWh (2000) | 4.473 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 120 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 61 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 7 million kWh (2000) | 4.873 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan de Chiriqui 3,475 m |
Environment - current issues | heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk | water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal; air pollution in urban areas; mining threatens natural resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) | balboas per US dollar - 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among their members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held by November 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Teburoro TITO reelected president; percent of vote - Teburoro TITO 50.4%, Taberannang TIMEON 48.4%, Bakeua Bakeua TEKITA 1.2% |
chief of state: President Martin TORRIJOS Espino (since 1 September 2004); First Vice President Samuel LEWIS Navarro (since 1 September 2004); Second Vice President Ruben AROSEMENA Valdes (since 1 September 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Martin TORRIJOS Espino (since 1 September 2004); First Vice President Samuel LEWIS Navarro (since 1 September 2004); Second Vice President Ruben AROSEMENA Valdes (since 1 September 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held 3 May 2009); note - beginning in 2009, Panama will have only one vice president. election results: Martin TORRIJOS Espino elected president; percent of vote - Martin TORRIJOS Espino 47.5%, Guillermo ENDARA Galimany 30.6%, Jose Miguel ALEMAN 17%, Ricardo MARTINELLI 4.9% note: government coalition - PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party), PP (Popular Party) |
Exports | $6 million f.o.b. (1998) | NA |
Exports - commodities | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish | bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing (1999) |
Exports - partners | Japan, Bangladesh, US, Australia, Brazil, Poland (2000) | US 50.5%, Sweden 6.6%, Spain 5.1%, Netherlands 4.4%, Costa Rica 4.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | NA | calendar year |
Flag description | the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean | divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white (hoist side) with a blue five-pointed star in the center and plain red; the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $79 million (2001 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 7.2%
industry: 13% services: 79.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 6% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 25 N, 173 00 E | 9 00 N, 80 00 W |
Geography - note | 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru | strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: 27 km are paved in South Tarawa (2001) |
total: 11,643 km
paved: 4,028 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,615 km (2000 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 35.7% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | - | major cocaine transshipment point and primary money-laundering center for narcotics revenue; money-laundering activity is especially heavy in the Colon Free Zone; offshore financial center; negligible signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem |
Imports | $44 million c.i.f. (1999) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel | capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Australia, Japan, Fiji, Poland, US (2000) | US 33.3%, Netherlands Antilles 8.1%, Japan 6%, Costa Rica 5.7%, Mexico 4.6%, Colombia 4.2% (2004) |
Independence | 12 July 1979 (from UK) | 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1991 est.) | 5.4% (2004 est.) |
Industries | fishing, handicrafts | construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling |
Infant mortality rate | 52.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 20.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) | FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms); five superior courts; three courts of appeal |
Labor force | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) | 1.32 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 20.8%, industry 18%, services 61.2% (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 555 km
border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 49.32% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 7.36%
permanent crops: 1.98% other: 90.66% (2001) |
Languages | I-Kiribati, English (official) | Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual |
Legal system | NA | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
unicameral National Assembly (formerly called Legislative Assembly) or Asamblea Nacional (78 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - in 2009, the number of seats will change to 71)
elections: last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held 3 May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRD 40, PA 17, PS 8, MOLIRENA 3, CD 2, PP 2, PLN 1, other 5 note: legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.54 years
male: 57.61 years female: 63.62 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 75.25 years
male: 72.68 years female: 77.93 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6% male: 93.2% female: 91.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica |
Map references | Oceania | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 5,005 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 122,960,929 GRT/183,615,337 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 1,548, cargo 886, chemical tanker 465, combination ore/oil 13, container 605, liquefied gas 183, livestock carrier 8, passenger 42, passenger/cargo 77, petroleum tanker 521, refrigerated cargo 298, roll on/roll off 97, specialized tanker 5, vehicle carrier 256 foreign-owned: 4,388 (Andorra 1, Argentina 9, Australia 3, Bahamas 1, Belgium 14, Brazil 1, Canada 1, Chile 14, China 310, Colombia 5, Croatia 1, Cuba 9, Cyprus 7, Denmark 13, Egypt 15, France 7, Germany 23, Greece 546, Hong Kong 159, India 8, Indonesia 46, Ireland 1, Isle of Man 2, Israel 3, Italy 8, Japan 1814, Jordan 9, Latvia 2, Lithuania 5, Malaysia 11, Maldives 1, Malta 1, Mexico 4, Monaco 8, Netherlands 22, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 6, Norway 66, Pakistan 1, Peru 13, Philippines 15, Poland 19, Portugal 8, Romania 13, Russia 4, Saudi Arabia 4, Singapore 54, South Africa 3, South Korea 292, Spain 41, Sri Lanka 1, Sudan 1, Sweden 4, Switzerland 188, Syria 7, Taiwan 301, Thailand 10, Trinidad & Tobago 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 18, Ukraine 9, UAE 83, United Kingdom 29, United States 88, Venezuela 20, Vietnam 2, Yemen 1) (2005) |
Military - note | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ | on 10 February 1990, the government of then President ENDARA abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces; in October 1994, Panama's Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the creation of a standing military force, but allowing the temporary establishment of special police units to counter acts of "external aggression" |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) | an amendment to the Constitution abolished the armed forces, but there are security forces (Panamanian Public Forces or PPF includes the Panamanian National Police, National Maritime Service, and National Air Service) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $147 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.1% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) | Independence Day, 3 November (1903) |
Nationality | noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
noun: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian |
Natural hazards | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level | occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area |
Natural resources | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) | copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures |
Democratic Change or CD [Ricardo MARTINELLI]; Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Martin TORRIJOS]; National Liberal Party or PLN [Anibal GALINDO]; Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Jesus ROSAS]; Panamenista Party or PA (formerly the Arnulfista Party) [Mireya Elisa MOSCOSO Rodriguez]; Popular Party or PP (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC) [Ruben AROSEMENA]; Solidarity Party or PS [Jose Raul MULINO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Chamber of Commerce; National Civic Crusade; National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO; National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP; National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS); Panamanian Association of Business Executives or APEDE; Panamanian Industrialists Society or SIP; Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama or CTRP |
Population | 96,335 (July 2002 est.) | 3,039,150 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 37% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.28% (2002 est.) | 1.26% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton | Balboa, Colon, Cristobal |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 17,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 355 km
standard gauge: 76 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 279 km 0.914-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) note: Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service |
general assessment: domestic and international facilities well developed
domestic: NA international: country code - 507; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,800 (1999) | 386,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 834,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) | 38 (including repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs | interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills |
Total fertility rate | 4.32 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.45 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) | 12.6% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) | 800 km (includes 82 km Panama Canal) (2004) |